hand over hand

chapter 1

It was the last week of summer vacations and after a long summer, everyone was actually longing to go back to school, especially Shinji, Rei, and Asuka, who would be finally going to college, all three of them were very excited since they were all going to the same university. In the past years, Shinji and Rei attended one school and were separated from Asuka, due to them being step-siblings. Shinji and Rei started living in the same house when they both were 2 years old, so practically their whole life, it happened because Yui, Shinji's mom, had been doing her university's social work at an orphanage, and in her time there, Rei had been abandoned and the entrance of it, Yui was the one in charge of taking care of her, and by the time she finished her career, she just couldn't leave Rei behind, so she and her husband, Gendo, decided to adopt her.

"Come on dude, we're gonna be late if you don't hurry!", those words from Asuka got Shinji out of his thoughts and made him follow the orders his friend just gave him. They were all packing their things into a van to then take a two-hour drive to their new school. It was a new start for all of them so they were pretty nervous but at the same time happy to be able to start this new chapter with their best friends. It took them about an hour to get all of the boxes into the van, including clothes, books, and some other personal belongings, so all they had to do now was to say goodbye to their parents. Shinji wasn't prepared for this, he really didn't want to talk to his dad and he was always known for being a mama's boy, so he knew he'd definitely cry while saying goodbye to Yui.

"Okay, I guess this is it," Yui said making both of her kids turn around to face her, she looked like she was about to cry but was holding back her tears to not make the two young adults in front of her cry too. "Remember to text me every week, at least just to say you're doing okay, I know I'm being repetitive, but if any of you need anything, don't doubt to call me or your dad." Rei turned to see Shinji while Yui was talking to see if he was crying, and by his expression, she figured it wouldn't take him that long to start tearing up. "I've packed you guys some food for the road, it's in the lunchbox I gave to Rei, okay?" they both gave her a nod, and then she pulled them both in for a hug, "I'm gonna miss you so much, remember to be good and to always take care of each other," her voice was weak at the last sentence, she already crying. "I'm proud of you, Shinji and Rei, I'll see you again in six months, I bet the time will go by flying." She finally let them go from the hug and Shinji was looking down, trying to not make anyone realize that he was crying, while Rei was just smiling from the kind words her mother gave her.

"We're gonna miss you too, mom. And don't worry, I'll make sure to text you to let you know that we are both doing great" Rei said with a smile and then headed to where her dad was to say goodbye to him. Shinji stayed looking at the ground in front of his mom, not wanting to have her see him being so weak, not that Yui hadn't seen him cry before, but this was the first time he was embarrassed about it.

"Thank you so much for everything mom, I guess I'll see you in six months then," he said with a small but genuine smile on his face and hugged his mom again. "I'm gonna be okay, don't worry about me." After that, he finally walked away from her and joined Rei to say bye to his dad. They never had the best relationship but he knew Gendo tried to make an effort to make Shinji like him back. Rei and Gendo were already done with their conversation, so when Shinji got there, they both turned to look at him. "Goodbye dad, thanks for the help lifting the boxes." Without saying a word, Gendo just smiled and drew Shinji in for a hug, which at first was a little awkward, but when Rei joined a few seconds later, it got more relaxed. For the first time ever, Shinji was actually happy his dad was hugging him and returned the hug.

"I'm so proud of you kids, I know I can be a little old-fashioned," he said the last sentence looking at Rei, "but I'm really trying, give your old man some time, okay?" Shinji and Rei all smiled at their father and split up from the hug. "Take care, I'm sure you'll have a great time." They both nodded, waved their dad goodbye, and proceeded to go to the van, in which Asuka was waiting for them patiently in the driver's seat. Shinji got in the back seats struggling to fit because of the boxes, and Rei got in the front seat, then they all and waved to Yui, Gendo, and Asuka's mom as the car moved forward, eventually leaving them out of sight.